How many times have you had a recipe you wanted to try for dinner, but realized you didn't have one of the ingredients? (No names mentioned here, you know who you are!) Or, as is common around here, you are in the middle of making something, and realize you are out of one of the ingredients that you were sure you had? What to do?

STOP! Do not run to the store to get that one ingredient, and probably a few others you hadn't planned on. Check to see if you can substitute. In the last post, I mentioned a substitute for unsweetened chocolate squares, and the unnamed here, brought up buttermilk. There are substitutes for spices, baking ingredients, dairy, or 100's of other things. You can substitute in a pinch or by choice, to save money or to save fat and calories.

How do you know what to substitute? Check your cook books. Many cook books will have a list of food substitutions, often on the inside of the front or back cover. Yours doesn't have one or doesn't give a substitution for the ingredient you need? Check the world at your fingertips.

About: Home cooking has a list of places online you can find food substitutions. I didn't look at all of them, but here is a few thoughts on the ones I saw.

The Cook's Thesaurus. OH MY! This site has 1000's of substitutions. It is huge! It well organized, and has a search tool. Even so, I found it a bit cumbersome to navigate through for simple substitutions. Good for an unusual one though.

Aunt Edna's Kitchen has a simple basic chart. I like this! This would be good to print out and stick in your cook book, if the book doesn't already have one.

Mississippi State Extension has a more comprehensive chart that goes beyond baking basics. It also includes measurement equivalents, in a separate chart. Those are always handy to have.

Next time your in need of an ingredients, save yourself some time and gas, and the temptation to impulse buy; don't go to the store. Check for a substitution first!